Reduced Heat Losses
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Reduced Heat Losses
Kordina
The concept of the Kordina named after its inventor Zsigmond Kordina (see below), is described on page 153 of Wardale’s book “The Red Devil and Other Tales from the Age of Steam”, its function being to: “expand the release steam to low pressure and high velocity at the point where the exhaust flows from the […]
The “Economizer”
An “economizer” is a supplementary water heater consisting of the front part of the boiler which is partitioned off from the rear section by a thin steel plate baffle, closely-fitted inside and around (but not rigidly attached to) the boiler barrel, tubes and flues. Thus, the pressure on both sides of the baffle is the […]
Feedwater Heating
The temperature of feedwater entering the boiler should be as high as possible in order to maximize steam production and to minimize thermal stresses in the boiler structure Feedwater heating can be achieved in many ways. The “steam injectors” commonly used on First Generation locomotives provides a degree of preheating, however they only work at […]
Porta’s Water Treatment – Extending the Life of Locomotive Boilers
Porta’s Water Treatment is an extension of the TIA system that was successfully used in France and the UK in the later days of steam. Porta’s water treatment is claimed to: stop all water-side corrosion; prevent scale formation, even when using the hardest of water; prevent deposition of sludges and thus the need for frequent […]
Gas Producer Combustion System (GPCS)
The application of GPCS or “Gas Producer Combustion System” to locomotive fireboxes is explained in great detail in pages 78 to 92 of Dave Wardale’s book “The Red Devil and Other Tales from the Age of Steam“. Basically it is a 19th century technology involving the blowing of oxygen over heated coal to make “Producer […]
“Second Generation Steam” – a Definition
The celebrated Argentinean steam locomotive engineer Livio Dante Porta devised a classification for steam locomotive development as summarized below: First Generation Steam (FGS) – practically all past locomotives; Second Generation Steam (SGS) – new designs incorporating the best proven modern steam locomotive technology; Third Generation Steam (TGS) – totally new formats requiring considerable research and […]
Combustion air preheating
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Brakes
Locomotive and Train Brakes There are three types of brakes used in railway operations: the Air Brake, the Steam Brake and the Vacuum Brake. Steam Brake (steam locomotives only): steam brakes are used only on steam locomotives and their tenders. Steam brakes use the steam from the locomotive’s boiler to generate the braking force that […]
Exhausts
Locomotive Exhausts Page Under Development This page is still “under development”. Please contact Chris Newman at webmaster@advanced-steam.org if you would like to help by contributing text to this or any other page.’ Background A steam locomotive’s exhaust system is perhaps the most innovative of all the ideas that underpin the “Stephensonian” concept. It’s cleverness derives […]
Incomplete Expansion
Incomplete Expansion of Steam in the Cylinder Page Under Development This page is still “under development”. Please contact Chris Newman at webmaster@advanced-steam.org if you would like to help by contributing text to this or any other page. The term “incomplete expansion” is used to describe the curtailment of the expansion of steam inside a locomotive’s […]
Reuleaux Diagram
How to construct a Reuleaux Diagram Whilst the exact movements of a locomotive’s valves are indeterminate because of the angularity effects of both connecting rods and eccentric rods, a close approximation of its valve events can be found through constructing a Reuleaux diagram in which the angularities are ignored. Porta used these as a first […]